Interior design: Retro romance
THE Swinging Sixties are all the rage again, as evidenced by the popularity of BBC Four’s Mad Men and a new BBC One series called Rewind The Sixties. KAREN WILSON explains why there’s no need to let the style stay on screen.
SUAVE advertising executives and girls with hourglass figures aren’t the only stars of TV’s cult series Mad Men – it’s the early Sixties settings which are giving us interior inspiration for today’s spaces.
The craze for retro wares has been around for many years, but it’s been given a huge boost by the Mad Men series, says antiques and collectables expert Judith Miller.
She says: “I’m not surprised, because bland has had its day in decor and there’s a sexiness about this look. Unfussy, curved lines and a playful use of colour and pattern are ideal ways to bring character and personality to rooms.”
Judith, whose new book, Costume Jewellery (Miller’s, £25) features eye-candy pieces from the Fifties and Sixties, says: “Both decades were such creative, fun eras because it was post-war and people were craving fresh new styles and were willing to experiment.
“It was the ideal time for creative designers to be able to emerge and there came a wealth of appealing British and Scandinavian pieces whose dimensions and style are perfectly suited to today’s homes.”
Whether you want to flirt with the Fifties or swing back to the Sixties (don’t worry if you don’t remember the latter, as that’s a sure sign you really enjoyed them!), retro looks are the way forward.
Take a look (Martini in hand, of course) at reviving retro in your rooms ... and then the only missing ingredient will be handsome ladies’ man Don Draper.
PLUMP FOR PATTERN
Patterned wallpaper is a shortcut to creating a retro atmosphere in a room. From the Fifties through to the Seventies, boldly coloured graphic prints were in vogue.
“Perhaps the simplest way of using pattern, and a good way of dipping your toe in the water, is to restrict patterned elements to relatively small-scale applications such as cushion covers and throws, lampshades or bath linen,” suggests Irish designer Orla Kiely, whose new book, Pattern, is full of inspiring ideas.
She draws inspiration from the Sixties and Seventies for her iconic print designs for clothing and homeware.
“A large patterned rug, a sofa upholstered in a bold print, or a wall papered in a large-scale design are ways of turning pattern into a strong visual statement,” she says. “If you want to play with colours, simply paint walls so they’re a backdrop to vintage statement furniture pieces.”
You can conjure the Fifties with red, black, yellow or lime green walls, or if that’s too harsh, opt for softer shades of pistachio green, pink and pale blues. Typical Sixties colours included bright red and purple, and rebellious clashing colours such as tangerine and fuchsia pink.
QUICK FIX
Curtain and soft furnishing specialist Montgomery offers funky Fifties fabric collections sporting bright leaf prints and floral patterns. With ranges widely available in stores, its Rococo 06 fabric in red/tangerine, £29 a metre, will perfectly create that retro look.
Create a feature wall in a bedroom by papering with Sixties-inspired Superfresco Easy Trippy Terracotta Geometric wallpaper, £17.98 a roll, from B&Q, and make it more authentic with a centrepiece, such as a Retro bed, with angled legs and a tapered headboard from The Sleep Room, from £745 for a double.
SWINGING SUITES
Slim legs and elegant curves – also displayed by Mad Men star Christina Hendricks, who plays Joan Holloway – are coincidentally striking features shared by Fifties and early Sixties furniture. Fancy trim and ornamentation were out of style after World War Two and contemporary was cool, with most mass-produced pieces looking spare rather than over-stuffed. The Sixties saw the emergence of even more streamlining, with futuristic pieces and transparent blow-up furniture.
“People are looking to styles of the past for interior inspiration,” says Andrew Cochrane, managing director of Nathan Furniture, whose Citadel 21 collection was inspired by its original 1963 range.
“There’s increasing confidence about combining vintage with contemporary to create a modern look that is very 21st Century, rather than simply an exercise in nostalgia.
“In my opinion, good design and style will always return and a tough climate could well be the catalyst for that return, when people find comfort in the familiar, and look back to perceived better times.”
You can turn retro detective and try to seek out original design pieces at auctions and antiques fairs which, depending on their condition, may be a wise investment. But if you can’t wait to join in the retro revival, there’s no shortage of vintage style copycats on the high street.
QUICK FIX
John Lewis has a splendid Revival furniture collection in oak, celebrating mid-century design with features such as splayed spindled legs, Scandinavian curves and plump upholstery. If I had to pick one star piece it would be its white lacquer Twist stem oval dining table, £479, so reminiscent of a Sixties sculptural design.
Those who love to designer name-drop need look no further than Heal’s which has a wealth of covetable retro pieces in its Vitra collection featuring the work of design luminaries such as Charles and Ray Eames, a husband and wife team who produced sleek leather, plywood and plastic furniture.
Or bag a copy of a classic design. Bhs has its own version of the cocooning Egg chair by designer Arne Jacobsen, which dates from 1958, for £729, currently reduced to £599. If you’ve got more cash to splash, Nathan Furniture’s long, low teak sideboard, £1,175 from the Citadel 21 collection, is a stunner and would be well matched by its Soft Monty sofa and footstool, £999.
TIMELY TOUCHES
There’s no need to turn your home into a shrine to retro with shag pile carpet and psychedelic wallpaper – simply pay homage to yesteryear by adding a few well-chosen and eye-catching pieces.
Before mobiles were born, landline telephones ruled, and displaying one of these is one of the easiest ways to “brring” in the style.
Oliver Bonas’s chunky Fifties-style desk phone, £49.50, could have come straight from the set of a black and white movie. Equally appealing is Trim Phone from Getting Personal, £29.95, which is a reproduction of the original introduced in the mid-Sixties but became hugely popular in the Seventies.
Turn back time with a wall clock from CafePress, £11, resembling a vinyl 45 rpm record. Alternatively, just tune into the trend with designer Orla Kiely’s radio, decorated in her unmistakable petal print: A Pure Evoke Mio Dab radio from John Lewis, £149.
Put magazines and newspapers into Fifties-style white metal Gumball racks adorned with bubblegum- coloured plastic balls from the Dotcomgiftshop, £17.95, and dress a ceiling light with a Peacock drum lampshade from HunkyDory Home, £34, in a retro colourway of chocolate brown, turquoise and olive green.
QUICK FIX
Quackers or kitsch? You can decide, after you’ve displayed a set of three coloured flying ducks for the wall from HunkyDory Home, £12.75. Domestic divas or desperate housewives will find it hard to resist bright-coloured storage tins and mugs decorated with Fifties advertising slogans from Make International. A mug is £8 and a set of three tins £25.
Rewind The Sixties presented by Lulu is on BBC One from November 15-19. Mad Men is on BBC Four at 10pm every Wednesday.
The craze for retro wares has been around for many years, but it’s been given a huge boost by the Mad Men series, says antiques and collectables expert Judith Miller.
She says: “I’m not surprised, because bland has had its day in decor and there’s a sexiness about this look. Unfussy, curved lines and a playful use of colour and pattern are ideal ways to bring character and personality to rooms.”
“It was the ideal time for creative designers to be able to emerge and there came a wealth of appealing British and Scandinavian pieces whose dimensions and style are perfectly suited to today’s homes.”
Whether you want to flirt with the Fifties or swing back to the Sixties (don’t worry if you don’t remember the latter, as that’s a sure sign you really enjoyed them!), retro looks are the way forward.
Take a look (Martini in hand, of course) at reviving retro in your rooms ... and then the only missing ingredient will be handsome ladies’ man Don Draper.
PLUMP FOR PATTERN
Patterned wallpaper is a shortcut to creating a retro atmosphere in a room. From the Fifties through to the Seventies, boldly coloured graphic prints were in vogue.
“Perhaps the simplest way of using pattern, and a good way of dipping your toe in the water, is to restrict patterned elements to relatively small-scale applications such as cushion covers and throws, lampshades or bath linen,” suggests Irish designer Orla Kiely, whose new book, Pattern, is full of inspiring ideas.
She draws inspiration from the Sixties and Seventies for her iconic print designs for clothing and homeware.
“A large patterned rug, a sofa upholstered in a bold print, or a wall papered in a large-scale design are ways of turning pattern into a strong visual statement,” she says. “If you want to play with colours, simply paint walls so they’re a backdrop to vintage statement furniture pieces.”
You can conjure the Fifties with red, black, yellow or lime green walls, or if that’s too harsh, opt for softer shades of pistachio green, pink and pale blues. Typical Sixties colours included bright red and purple, and rebellious clashing colours such as tangerine and fuchsia pink.
QUICK FIX
Curtain and soft furnishing specialist Montgomery offers funky Fifties fabric collections sporting bright leaf prints and floral patterns. With ranges widely available in stores, its Rococo 06 fabric in red/tangerine, £29 a metre, will perfectly create that retro look.
Create a feature wall in a bedroom by papering with Sixties-inspired Superfresco Easy Trippy Terracotta Geometric wallpaper, £17.98 a roll, from B&Q, and make it more authentic with a centrepiece, such as a Retro bed, with angled legs and a tapered headboard from The Sleep Room, from £745 for a double.
SWINGING SUITES
Slim legs and elegant curves – also displayed by Mad Men star Christina Hendricks, who plays Joan Holloway – are coincidentally striking features shared by Fifties and early Sixties furniture. Fancy trim and ornamentation were out of style after World War Two and contemporary was cool, with most mass-produced pieces looking spare rather than over-stuffed. The Sixties saw the emergence of even more streamlining, with futuristic pieces and transparent blow-up furniture.
“People are looking to styles of the past for interior inspiration,” says Andrew Cochrane, managing director of Nathan Furniture, whose Citadel 21 collection was inspired by its original 1963 range.
“There’s increasing confidence about combining vintage with contemporary to create a modern look that is very 21st Century, rather than simply an exercise in nostalgia.
“In my opinion, good design and style will always return and a tough climate could well be the catalyst for that return, when people find comfort in the familiar, and look back to perceived better times.”
You can turn retro detective and try to seek out original design pieces at auctions and antiques fairs which, depending on their condition, may be a wise investment. But if you can’t wait to join in the retro revival, there’s no shortage of vintage style copycats on the high street.
QUICK FIX
John Lewis has a splendid Revival furniture collection in oak, celebrating mid-century design with features such as splayed spindled legs, Scandinavian curves and plump upholstery. If I had to pick one star piece it would be its white lacquer Twist stem oval dining table, £479, so reminiscent of a Sixties sculptural design.
Those who love to designer name-drop need look no further than Heal’s which has a wealth of covetable retro pieces in its Vitra collection featuring the work of design luminaries such as Charles and Ray Eames, a husband and wife team who produced sleek leather, plywood and plastic furniture.
Or bag a copy of a classic design. Bhs has its own version of the cocooning Egg chair by designer Arne Jacobsen, which dates from 1958, for £729, currently reduced to £599. If you’ve got more cash to splash, Nathan Furniture’s long, low teak sideboard, £1,175 from the Citadel 21 collection, is a stunner and would be well matched by its Soft Monty sofa and footstool, £999.
TIMELY TOUCHES
There’s no need to turn your home into a shrine to retro with shag pile carpet and psychedelic wallpaper – simply pay homage to yesteryear by adding a few well-chosen and eye-catching pieces.
Before mobiles were born, landline telephones ruled, and displaying one of these is one of the easiest ways to “brring” in the style.
Oliver Bonas’s chunky Fifties-style desk phone, £49.50, could have come straight from the set of a black and white movie. Equally appealing is Trim Phone from Getting Personal, £29.95, which is a reproduction of the original introduced in the mid-Sixties but became hugely popular in the Seventies.
Turn back time with a wall clock from CafePress, £11, resembling a vinyl 45 rpm record. Alternatively, just tune into the trend with designer Orla Kiely’s radio, decorated in her unmistakable petal print: A Pure Evoke Mio Dab radio from John Lewis, £149.
Put magazines and newspapers into Fifties-style white metal Gumball racks adorned with bubblegum- coloured plastic balls from the Dotcomgiftshop, £17.95, and dress a ceiling light with a Peacock drum lampshade from HunkyDory Home, £34, in a retro colourway of chocolate brown, turquoise and olive green.
QUICK FIX
Quackers or kitsch? You can decide, after you’ve displayed a set of three coloured flying ducks for the wall from HunkyDory Home, £12.75. Domestic divas or desperate housewives will find it hard to resist bright-coloured storage tins and mugs decorated with Fifties advertising slogans from Make International. A mug is £8 and a set of three tins £25.
Rewind The Sixties presented by Lulu is on BBC One from November 15-19. Mad Men is on BBC Four at 10pm every Wednesday.
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